Fed’s Goolsbee: June CPI inflation data was “surprisingly benign”

Federal Reserve (Fed) Bank of Chicago President Austan Goolsbee said on Tuesday that the June Consumer Price Index (CPI) report was encouraging but cautioned against overreacting to a single month of data. Goolsbee spoke during a fireside chat at the Kenosha Area Business Alliance Business Lunch event in Wisconsin.

Key takeaways:

June CPI inflation data was “surprisingly benign.”

Policymakers should never overreact to one month of inflation data.

Several consecutive months of similar inflation readings would make Goolsbee feel more confident.

Services inflation has remained “way too high.”

The latest services inflation reading was encouraging.

Several months of Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) inflation resembling the June CPI report would make Goolsbee feel “a lot better.”

The US labor market is stable “without being good.”

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